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Stuck in my own yard
So I brought the bus home to load it near the house. The spot I parked in was on grass but the ground was a little wet due to a storm last night. I noticed that when I tried to pull forward that the drive wheels were spinning. I stopped trying to move it forward to prevent a rut. I need to leave in 3 days. The ground usually firms up quickly and I assume all will be fine but I am not sure. Would anyone suggest some sand or gravel to help or maybe lift the tag for traction? I guess worst case I have a tractor and a chain but I would suspect the point of attachment would be important. Any ideas?
wave
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12 Replies
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If the drive wheels were spinning that means they might already be sitting in a depression. To move the coach forward they have to climb out of that little depression and if the wet ground allowed the tag and steer tires to sink in a little those drive wheels not only have to climb up what might be a slippery surface themselves, they also have to push the tag and steers up hill also.
How deep the drives are buried is dependent on to many factors to assess here, but you do have to make a solid gold decision about the extent you are willing to go to get the bus moving because in my experience underestimating all that needs to be done only tends to get a vehicle stuck even more.
Things that come to mind are to dig in front of all the wheels to make sure they are all going to move forward without having to climb up out of a hole or depression. You don’t say if the ground is level or flat, but if it is such that you can any rocking motion might be all it takes to get it rolling. Sometimes even a slight additional pull such as from your tractor will be all it takes. Your coach should have two heavy loops on the frame about in line with the rear of the door opening for a chain.
If in doubt use your insurance to get a tow.
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If you tow it from the front attach as indicated here.
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Assuming it’s not “buried” it will amaze you how little of a pull is necessary to get the coach moving! Just a nice steady tug will get the bus motivated and out of that slick spot. You can raise the tag to get some additional weight on the drives, but if the ground is soft it’s more likely that you will sink in further. You can try rocking backward slightly and if you can see some clear ground, stop it while back slightly and apply a good dose of kitty litter for some additional traction (assuming the ground has dried out a bit) and you might well just drive it right out if it is only a slight divot.
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You guys are great thanks. It is on a very mild uphill slope and the divot is about one inch. I would bet it will dry to the point of driving it out but if not you have given me some good ideas. I think I can back it out of the divot since its downhill backing add some litter and then go forward. I have limited back up due to trees but I have about 5 feet.
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I would not rock her back and forth . You could do damage to the rear end . If stuck just use coachnet or other tow service , after all isnt that why we have it ?
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We park our bus on stone dust but have to drive across the yard to get there. I have gotten stuck badly in the past before someone told me to lift the tag. With the tag down as soon as the drives spin more weight is transfer to the tag which does not spin. Pretty soon your drives have dug in and you’re sitting on your tags.
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I have had the bus stuck several times. Three times I was able to pull our 40-foot XL out with my Jeep using low 4 wheel drive and both lockers. You have to be careful pulling from the front to avoid damaging the front bumper or lower valance especially on an XLII. It is much easier to remove the tow bar and pull from the back but that may not be possible. As Bill said it may not take much to get you going.
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The first thing I would try is what we do when stuck on ice. Put something under the tires to drive out on. Floor Matt’s work well. Roof shingles if you have any. Pieces of plywood with something on them, old rugs, shingles etc. Use anything to spread the weight and give traction.
Of course the easiest is to call for a recovery.
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Try lifting your tag axle, that will put more weight on your drives for traction.
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Great ideas. I am going to try some of them this PM. I will let you know. It is difficult to get that low angle attachment that would not affect the bumpers using a tractor or a truck. I might use my low offset hitch in the truck to get down there. Thanks again.
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When we used the tractors I ran the chain from the drawbar on the three point hookup at the lowest level. It was just low enough to not damage the XLII.
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I was able to back downhill enough to get the tires out of the divots then I filled the divots with cat litter. I have not tried to go forward but the ground has dried out and I believe all is well. Lesson learned. Thanks everyone.
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